Mary Brooksbank

Early life

Mary Brooksbank was born in an Aberdeen slum, the oldest of either five or ten children, and came to Dundee when she was eight or nine years old.

Mary's father, Sandy Soutar (who died in 1953, aged 86), was from St Vigeans, Arbroath, and had been an active trade unionist amongst the dock workers, working with James Connolly.

Her most famous song was "Jute Mill Song" or "Oh Dear Me".:

Jute Mill Song (Mary Brooksbank)

Oh dear me, the mill's gannin' fast The puir wee shifters canna get a rest Shiftin' bobbins coorse and fine They fairly mak' ye work for your ten and nine

Oh dear me, I wish the day was done Rinnin' up and doon the Pass it is nae fun Shiftin', piecin', spinnin' warp weft and twine Tae feed and clad my bairnie affen ten and nine

Oh dear me, the warld is ill divided Them that works the hardest are the least provided I maun bide contented, dark days or fine For there's nae much pleasure livin' affen ten and nine Repeat 1

You can hear it sung by Brookshanks and later folksingers at the Scots Language Centre: Scotslanguage.com - Work Songs.

Her original notebook of songs and poems is part of the Kinnear Collection held by the archives at the University of Dundee. The same institution also holds a collection of her papers. Ewan MacColl recorded some of her songs.

Commemoration

A rearrangement of the Jute Mill Song or Oh Dear Me was created by the American artists Brian House and Sue Huang of collaborative Knifeandfork for a performance installation at West Ward Works and Verdant Works in 2016 for the NEoN Digital Arts Festival.

In 2022, to mark the 125th anniversary of her birth, the Abertay Historical Society published a collection of essays celebrating her life and work.

In September 2023, Knights Theatre held a celebration event “Oh Dear Me: The Inspirational Mary Brooksbank” at Dundee Fringe and a creative writing workshop at Verdant Works Museum.